Friday, July 8, 2016

It was a Black Lives Matter protest, a cry for justice after yet another incident of black men dying at the hands of police. And yet it was a peaceful protest; the officers who policed the gathering wore regular uniforms, not riot gear, and even posed with protesters.

The sniper said he wanted to kill white people, especially white police officers.

Watching the live video on TV last night was scary, terrifying, horrible.

And it didn't help that Brian Williams kept reminding viewers that last night's events took place just minutes from Dealey Plaza, and that the shooting victims were taken to Parkland Hospital -- those of us who grew up in the 60's, even those of us who were too young to remember the JFK assassination, grew up with those events hovering over us, the after image shaping our young lives.

And another image pops into my head -- the tensions that exploded in 1968. I was a child, I didn't come to full understanding about that summer until much, much later.